Cooling bed



G. L, FlSK Sept. 7, 1943.

COOLING BED Filed Sept. 29, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Spt y? 3.9433.

G. a... FlsK` 2,328,634

COOLING BED Filed Sept, 29, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 7, 1943 srnrfes orrrcay f -Q eooLINdBED GustafL. Fisk,` NwFairkL- Conn., assignor-to Mestaf..Machinemompanm .Vtfestl Homestead, .Par:,.aicorporaioncof Pennsylvania Application vSeptember 29, 1941,A Serial No; 412,801"

(CL Sila-42.)

cess'fully by vthe structures and mechanisms known .-previously. In addition,v when .pack .annealing '.bars on bedsoknown types, itis `found th'abthebars do not rea-dilysenarate fronreach other..at .the discharge end. .of thefpack Instead,

the bars have a tendency to shinglef.sothateom siderable vtime and labor are required ,toseparate them preparatoryto..subsequent vlf-ian-dling.` i v II haveinvented `a-novel vcoolingabed which fully .overcomes the aforementioned robj ectionssto such bedsas previouslyknoWn. -In xthe preferred .fem- 1 'bodimeni-I provideretreating.abutments .adapted .to support a .packet iiatA bars on edge-fduring cooling as ther progressivelymove racrossthe pack rannealingsection of afcooli-nglbed. Theretreatingabutments depend .from supports above thepackV .annealing :section'o thelcooling: bed, u

which :supports are mounted l for .til-ting. move.- ment to.. restore .the abutmentsby gravity, to thestarting position or toadjust theelevation of the abutmentsior barsof d-iiierentvwidths., The bars ,are delivered .in --position against the =abut ments and to' the :pack .by rotatable packing .arms similar to those show-n in the priorpatents mentioned above.

Means are providedy for Vseparating the. leading 'barv from the remaining barsv constitutingv the pack, in such manneras to avoidany, shingl'ing .andftoinsure alprompt .and positive separation- For a complete understanding oftheinvention,

A vreference -is made to. the accompanying drawings which Will 'bedescribed `and explained .in detail I hereinafter. In the-drawings,

Figure 1 is atypicaltransversesection through a cooling bed with ,partsinelevatiom the. showing being largely diagrammatic Figure 1A is a -partialendelevation -of the' retreatingabutment and its tilting support;

Figures V2 through 4 .are .diagramsillustra-ting the progressive steps .instartingand buildingy a vpackof flat bars -Vof-srnall .widthfor progressive .cooling in contact rwith eachl other, as carried out by the apparatus of Figures .l and 1A; and

Figure 5*.is a view similar to Figure @show-.ing theroperation .of forming a A.paola or :bars of the maximum width.

Referringnowin detail tothe ,drawings.and,'lfor the, present,A to..Figures l and,` 1A, hot :rolled Lbar's ll'Lare received alongone side `eta coolingb'ed indicated generally" at Il on-.a run-in conveyer comprising a .pluralityv of. motor-driven rollers l2. Y.Arms .|31 aremovablelongitudinally ofthe rollers `|2 to serveas ,akick.oi by displacing thebars l0 laterallyfrom .the rollers..

The.cooling.bed.l l comprises asloping skid sec tion l-Llan.arcuate skid..section l5, apacking sec, -ton AI l, `a sloping dischargesection l1 .and afinal coolingsection 1.8.. The. varioussections .of the bedfare .composedlof .skids formedirom suitable metal barssupportedin anyconvenient manner, for examplaas .disclosedjnthe prior patents above mentioned. The .nal cooling L section.- il! may conveniently take the-form illustrated atdl in Pfatent 1,954,123. 'Ihebarsforming .thep-aekingsectioln .IIB with dischargesection `Il .and the .arcuate skid .section l5.arefpivoted.on a; longif ,tudinal shaft- I9 wherebythepacking section may be tilted to dis-charge barsdelivered.theretoimrnev diately, in casepackannealing isnotdesired.

.The shaft I9. is .alsonovide-d, withpackingarms 2li-.disposed .between ,adjacent barssof lthe sloping .skidfsect'ion :I 4 and the arcuate 4skid section l 5. '.'IYhese arms serve; to ,movef a bar from .aaposition .atthe footfof the sloping .skidsection ldfiip.- wardly over the arcuateskid Asection i.5..to.,.the enteringv side. `of a Epacknf .1c-ars disposed. on, edge, indicatedgenerally at .2l The bars are delivered to the. slopingskid section lll, as` previouslyindicated, bythe. laterally Amovable arms .I 3` which act .asfa kick-,0ff.,

'The .novel pack supporting means which I have .inventedparticularly for the purpose of main taining a {packof extra.widebars as Well as packs Vof .bars .or ordinaryrwidths, is indicated generally .at 22. .It comprises. a, plurali-tyofarms 23.5paced alongfthe; length of the .cooling bed and .nivo-ted on.pins.24 inthe .main .frame..members. of the .bedl supportingthe.conveyer.roll'ersf l 2. Each arm `23is provided with a transverse bar 25, extending, through and welded vor otherW-iseseeured .thereto. A sleeve128fis slidablealongj-eachbar .25* andzhas ua .pack supporting abutment or ,ringer 21 dependingv fromthe vouter end thereof anda eounterweight formed adjacent .the inner end thereof. As. shown in Figurev l; thelower ends of the abutments .2] .areadaptedto Yengage the upperedgeotthe-leading bar in thepack .2i and thereby-support.theentire `pack with the bars thereof on edge.: yas: they move. successivelyV across the pack-,annealing section .l5 .of ,thecooling` bed. The diameterof the bar 25..is onlyfairaction of theinsidediameter of thesleeve wherebyY the .'lhe` arms-.23...are .rotatableon the pins ,2li-'to restore the .sleeves 42li/.and .the pack. .supporting abutments 21 to their initial position and to adjust the level of the lower end of the abutments collectively according to the width of the bars being handled as well as individually for alignment. The collective movement of the arms 23 is effected by rotation of a shaft 29 journaled in the main frame members of the bed, having cranks 30 spaced therealong and links 3| pivoted to the cranks 3D and the arms 23. Each link 3l includes a bar 32 having a sleeve 33 formed at the end thereof and a rod 34 having a clevis at the upper end by which it is pivoted to the arm 23. The lower end of the rod 34 passes through the sleeve 33 on the bar 32 and is threaded to receive nuts 35. A compression spring 36 is disposed on the rod 34 between the clevis end thereof and the sleeve 33. By suitable adjustment of the nuts 35, the spring 36 may be placed under the desired initial compression. When so adjusted, the link 3| serves to transmit positively any force applied thereto less than that necessary to further compress the spring.

A striker plate 31 is slidably mounted on bolts 38 extending through the upper end of the arm 23. A compression spring 39 surrounding the bar 25 bears on the striker plate 31 and the end of the arm 23. This provides a cushioning of the blow which is struck by the sleeve 26 on tilting of the bar 25 to restore the abutment 21 to the starting position or on tilting the bar 25 to a substantially vertical position to clear the bed. The springs 36 and 39 are so dimensioned that the latter will absorb all the impact of the sleeve 26 sliding down the bar 25. Lugs A0 on the striker plate 31 spaced radially outward from the bar 25 hold the end of the sleeve 26 against the bar when the sleeve engages the plate.

Any convenient drive may be provided for the shaft 29, e. g., a suitable motor and a gear reducer, whereby all the arms 23 along the full length of the cooling bed may be simultaneously operated either for adjustment to suit the width of the bar I or for setting the pack supporting abutments to starting position. Y

Referring now to Figures 2 through 4, the manner in which the apparatus described above effects the starting and building of a pack of narrow bars, say 2 wide, for progressive cooling in contact with each other will now be explained. The

shaft 29 is iirst operated so as to swing the arms 23 to raisethe bars 275 to a position where the sleeves 26 with abutments 21 will slide to starting position. After this telescoping movement, the shaft 29 is reversed to lower the bottom of the abutments 21 to a level such as illustrated in Figure 2 preparatory to forming a pack of relatively narrow bars I0. The initial or starting position of the abutments 21 is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The irst bar is received by the conveyer rollers I2 and is kicked off by the arms I3 to slide down the sloping skid section I4 of the bed. When the bar reaches the bottom of the sloping skid section, the shaft I9 is operated to swing the packing arms 20 to the position indicated in Figure 2. The outer ends of the packing arms engage the pack supporting abutments and displace them to the solid line position, simultaneously delivering the bar I0 with its upper edge against the abutments. The bars forming the pack annealing section I of the bed have a' small shoulder 4I formed therein adapted to engage the lower edge 0f the bars as delivered by the arms from the arcuate skid section I5. When the bar I0 has been positioned as described, it will thus be firmly supported on edge after retraction of the packing arms 20. Repeated operation of the packing arms to deliver additional bars causes no further displacement of the abutments 21, until the pack has reached the size illustrated in Figure 3. From then on the 1 abutments are forced to retreat as bars are added to the pack.

The movement of the abutments is resisted by the friction between the contacting surfaces of the sleeves 26 and bars 25. This is easily overcome by the force exerted by the arms 20, but is sufficient to support the bars of the pack on edge during the building of the pack and after it has been completed. It will be understood that after the placing of the first few bars of relatively small width in the pack, displacement of the abutments 21 is effected bythe addition of successive bars tothe entering side of the pack and the displacement thereby of the previously delivered bars.

The procedure described above continues until a full pack 2l has been built up on the pack annealing section I6, as illustrated in Figure 4 and Figure l. With a full pack as there shown, it will be evident that the addition ofV another bar will cause the first bar delivered to pass beyond the pack annealing section of the bed whereupon it is free to fall down the relatively steeply inclined skids forming the sloping section Il of the bed. This arrangement insures a clean separa'- tion of each bar individually from the remaining bars of the pack. This results from thefact kthat the weight of the bar is much greater than the frictional force exerted thereon by the abutments 21, which is the only force restraining the bar against falling. a

Continued operation through the above de'- scribed cycle causes the discharge of the leading bar from the delivery end of the pack each time an additional bar is delivered to the entry sideof the pack. When the desired amount of bars has been rolled and delivered to the pack annealing section, the last bars rolled, suflicient in number to form a full residual pack, are left on the pack annealing section I6 until they havebeen fully annealed by slo-w cooling. The entire pack annealing section of the bed is then tilted to cause the bars forming the residual pack to slide down-y wardly onto the final cooling or carry-over bed I8.

The'manner in which the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 1A operates to start, build and maintain a pack of bars of maximum width, e. g. 8, is illustrated in Figure 5. The shaft 29 is first operated to cause the sleeves 2S andthe abut'- ments 21 to slide downwardly on the bars 25 until the sleeves engage the striker platesv 31. The shaft 23 is then reversed to position the bars 25 so that when the abutments 21 have been retracted to the solid line position of Figure ,5, the lower ends thereof will be only slightly below the upper edges of the bars IU. In other words, whereas the transverse bars 25 are substantially horizontal when handling narrow bars on the pack annealing section, they are at a slight angle to the horizontal when handling the wider bars.A v

Before the first bar l0 is delivered to the pack annealing section, the packing arms 20 are operated through a complete cycle. The engagement of their outer ends with the abutments 21 causes the latter to move from the dotted line position to the shaded line position shown in Figure 5. The first bar I0 is then kicked off from the conveyer rolls and delivered by the packing arms. This step displaces the abutmentsf21 from the shaded line position to the chain line position. The shoulder 4I serves in the manner previously explained to sustain the bars delivered to the pack annealing section upon retraction of the packing arms. By the delivery of additional bars in the same manner, the full width of the pack is built up and the labutments 21 are pushed back to the solid line position shown in Figure 5. It will be apparent that since the abutments are pushed uphill with the aforementioned adjustments to accommodate them to bars of the maximum width, the resisting force is greater. This is desirable since the wider bars are heavier and require a greater restraining force to support them on edge.

When the full pack has been built, the leading bar falls down the sloping skid section in the same manner as previously described with the addition of the next bar to the entering side of the would have to be made large and cumbersome to accommodate bars of a width as great as 8, and would unduly increase the Width and the cost of the cooling bed as a whole. In addition, the leading bar of the pack separates itself quickly and cleanly from the remainder of the pack'as a` succeeding bar is delivered to the entry side thereof. v

The width of the pack annealing section of the bed may be chosen as the theoretical minimum required in View of the maximum width of the bars to be annealed, the length of the cooling bed and the rolling speed of the mill delivering bars to the bed. This is not the case with existing beds above referred to, which are partially ineffective due to shingling on the pack annealing section. Regardless of the width of the pack annealing section, the invention provides means for laterally supporting rolled bars of various widths on edge as they progress through the packs from the entering side to the discharge side thereof.

By using tubes for mounting the pack engaging abutments, I provide for circulation of air to prevent excessive heating of the pack supporting means and a structure which is relatively -cheap to manufacture. The pack engaging abutments are located in the same transverse planes as the packing arms 20. This avoids any bending or marking of the hot bars which might result if the force exerted by the packing arms were not exactly in line with the restraining force exerted by the friction between the abutments and their supports. It may not be necessary, however, to provide a pack engaging abutment for every packing arm.

The construction of the links 3i is such as to permit individual adjustment of the transverse bars 25, by turning nuts 35, to aline all the pack engaging abutments 21 throughout the length of the bed .to insure simultaneous engagement thereof by the bars delivered to the pack annealing section.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment 'of the invention, it will be recognized that changes inthe construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of fthe invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a cooling bed comprising a run-in conveyor and a secti-on to accommodate a pack of thin flat bars which do not sta-nd on edge Without lateral support, for pack-annealing, means for affording lateral support to b-ars delivered ion ed ge to `said section, means spaced along the length of and over-hanging said conveyor for supporting said means, and common means for .adjusting all Said second-mentioned means whereby to position saidfirst-mentioned means at a pre-determined elevation.

2. In a cooling bed comprising a run-in conveyor and a section to accommodate ya pack `of thin fla-t bars which do not stand on edge Without latenal support, for pack-annealing, means for Iaffording lateral support to bars delivered on edge to said section in a forward-leaning position relative to the direction of movemen-t, while vmaintaining the leading bar free to fall aWay as it reaches the discharge side of said section, and a shoulder at the entering side of said section adapted to retain the lower edge of the last bar delivered and cooperate with said means in starting, building-and maintaining a pack of bars f along and over-hanging said cooling bed at a Substantial height 4above sai-d section and fingers `depending from said :arms and at a substantial angle thereto for supporting the bars, said ngers being slidable along said arms upon eng-agement` lby the leading bar of a pack on said section.

4. A cooling bed as defined in claim 3 characterized by said over-hanging arms being movable to cause shifting of the fingers by gravity to pack starting positions.

5. In a cooling bed comprising `a run-n conveyor and a section to accommodate :a pack of thin flat bars which do not stand on edge without lateral support, for pack-annealing, means for affording lateral support to bars delivered on edge to said section including arms spaced along and over-hanging said cooling bed at a substantialheight above said section and fingers depending from said arms and at a substantial angle thereto for supponting the bars, said ngers being slidable along said arms upon engagement by the leading bar of a pack on said section and said over-hanging arms being adjustable to vary their inclination and .thereby vary the support afforded by said fingers.

6. In a cooling bed comprising a run-in conveyor and a section to .accommodate a pack of thin flat bars which do not stand on edge with- -owt lateral support, for pack-annealing, means for affording lateral support to bars -delivered on edge to said sec-tion including arms spaced along and over-hanging said conveyor and at a substantial height above sai-d section, fingers depending from said 'arms at a substantial angle thereto for supporting the bars, :and mounting means for said fingers movable along said arms whereby said iingers may be positioned adjacent the entering side of said section for starting a pack and progressively moved to the exit side of said section for supporting a completed pack.

GUSTAF L. FISK. 

